Stuart Broad is out of World Cup

Stuart Broad is out of World Cup

Stuart Broad is out of World Cup

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Stuart Broad

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Eoin Morgan

Joining up: Eoin Morgan

Stuart Broad today became the second England player in three days to be ruled out of the World Cup through injury.

The day after Kevin Pietersen returned to London for surgery on a hernia, Broad learned that the side strain he suffered during the six-run win over South Africa at the weekend would not heal before the end of the tournament.

It is rotten luck for Broad, who missed three Tests in this winter's Ashes series after tearing a stomach muscle in Adelaide in early December.

Just as he was in Australia, Chris Tremlett might now be asked to deputise for Broad.

The Surrey bowler was not named in the 15-man squad for the World Cup but was brought to the sub-continent on standby as England arrived with injury concerns about Broad, Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad.

Even though Tremlett was not required, he has stayed with the squad and might get his chance again, although Shahzad is ahead of him in the queue and will expect to be given the nod against Bangladesh in Chittagong on Friday.

Even before he had learned the verdict, Broad appeared to fear the worst. He dismissed his chances of being available against Bangladesh and admitted it was "not looking so great" for him to feature further down the line.

Side strains are a problem for fast bowlers, who rely on the "grunt" muscle to generate pace and momentum in the delivery stride.

Meanwhile, Eoin Morgan joined up with the squad today to replace Pietersen for the rest of the World Cup.

The Middlesex batsman was originally ruled out of the tournament with a broken finger sustained during the one-day series against Australia last month but England coach Andy Flower today confirmed the Irishman could face Bangladesh on Friday.

Flower is confident Pietersen will continue to play 50-over cricket for England after the batsman was forced to deny reports before the tournament that he would quit this form of the game after its conclusion to concentrate on Tests and Twenty20.

He said: "[Kevin's departure] might fuel the speculation. But he's told me he wants to carry on playing one-day international cricket, and I will take him at his word."

Before Broad's injury, Flower had hinted England might make changes to the bowling attack for the remaining two first-round games against Bangladesh and West Indies on March 17.

Now the coach, who must also decide who opens the batting after Pietersen's departure, has another puzzle to solve before Friday's match.